Born one way and becoming myself, I aim to
see people grow by realising the power of their
individuality.
My projects are always socially engaged. It starts with me talking to people, about their life, their positions within society. My brain sparks at seeing joy within people about themselves, it sparks at addressing tough subjects, at the feeling of a true sense of self.
The human power I am working with off late is the ability to revel in your gender, to show gender so genuinely, you feel elated with the simple sight of yourself. Gender Euphoria.
For my current project, I started with at least two 1-hour conversations with each of my muses, where we spoke about what we enjoyed as children, whom we looked up to, what articles of clothing brought us joy, made us feel safe. What shaped our perception of ourselves, and which of these elements were true to ourselves, and which were pushed onto us by societal norms? I curated our conversations to make an overview for myself, to find elements of their gender that kept returning, or made a clear impact.
These inspired sets of illustrations translated into fabric applications, placed into suits... Their gender, worn loud and proud. Ultimately, I long for my muses to recognize themselves within my work, and for others to get enticed into dialogue or thinking. What made you? Who are you?
My projects are always socially engaged. It starts with me talking to people, about their life, their positions within society. My brain sparks at seeing joy within people about themselves, it sparks at addressing tough subjects, at the feeling of a true sense of self.
The human power I am working with off late is the ability to revel in your gender, to show gender so genuinely, you feel elated with the simple sight of yourself. Gender Euphoria.
For my current project, I started with at least two 1-hour conversations with each of my muses, where we spoke about what we enjoyed as children, whom we looked up to, what articles of clothing brought us joy, made us feel safe. What shaped our perception of ourselves, and which of these elements were true to ourselves, and which were pushed onto us by societal norms? I curated our conversations to make an overview for myself, to find elements of their gender that kept returning, or made a clear impact.
These inspired sets of illustrations translated into fabric applications, placed into suits... Their gender, worn loud and proud. Ultimately, I long for my muses to recognize themselves within my work, and for others to get enticed into dialogue or thinking. What made you? Who are you?
A special thanks to the following people: Bebe,
for inspiring me to no end; Yvonne, for showing
me strength; Mira, for making me see the fun in
my project; Yassir, for the unbridled enthusiasm
of youth; Anouk, for her everlasting support and
love; Niels, for the fun conversations; Jan Hoek
for guiding me; Applepie, for being a loving
critical eye; my dear mother Swaan and father
Pieter for being there for me. And last but not
least, thanks to my dog Sibbe, for ensuring I
stay sane and take a break regularly.
Marijn Swildens (1998, Monnickendam, The Netherlands)
a.k.a. Marijn Abel is a socially
engaged designer who works with
clothes and conversations as a
medium. Being a trans and
bisexual man, he finds joy
within the overlooked aspects of
our individuality and likes to
bring them to light.
@abelmarijn
marijn.swildens@kpnmail.nl
@abelmarijn
marijn.swildens@kpnmail.nl